


Of Love and War

by GothAlbinoAngel



Category: Highschool DxD, Rosario + Vampire
Genre: F/F, War, vulgarity
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2017-01-20
Packaged: 2018-02-20 13:13:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2430128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GothAlbinoAngel/pseuds/GothAlbinoAngel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vampires and Devils are at war with each other. Vampire Lord Issa and Devil Overlord Sirzechs Gremory both refuse to back down and yield to the other. However, in the midst of the carnage, one person from each side begin forming a relationship that could end up getting them both killled if either Lord found out.. RiasxMoka</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Musings

**Author's Note:**

> I do so adore these two fandoms.

Rias watched her brother pace around the throne room, wondering what had upset him this time. The war with the vampires had been very intense of late, so there was no doubt that something had developed within the latest battle. "Five hundred soldiers!" Sirzechs snarled, glaring at his captain. "Five hundred soldiers were dispatched by _just_ the royal family! Only _one_ of which was male! Your men were defeated by four women, _two_ of whom were underage! This is unacceptable."

"I am sorry, My Liege, but we were unaware that they had the fabled Shinso blood. We thought-."

"Only _two_ have the blood of the legendary Shinsos," Sirzechs hissed. " _Two!_ The other two were regular vampires. One trained in the Jigen Tou that Touhou Fuhai refuses to teach us and the other simply had a lot of strength and a shapeshifting bat!"

"I am deeply sorry, My Lord," the captain murmured.

"Brother, what is going on?" Rias inquired, tired of eavesdropping. Strolling into the throne room regally, as was expected of her, the Devil Princess watched her brother curiously.

Sirzechs turned to her with a small, weary smile upon his face. "It seems the Vampire Lord's royal family is stronger than I anticipated. They defeated five hundred of our soldiers with only their two young girls, their adult daughter, his wife, and himself."

"It sounds troublesome," Rias cocked her head to the side, concern in her gaze.

"It is a minor setback, yes. But it is not something we can't overcome in due time."

"But brother, what if we can't overcome them? What do we do then?"

Sirzechs' eyes flashed unhappily. "We are Gremorys. We do not admit defeat against lower beings. How are your studies?"

Rias lowered her head unhappily. "I am doing well in my studies," she sighed.

Satan's eyes softened considerably at his sister's obvious sadness. "I know you miss your friends and servants on the surface, but the earth is the domain of the vampires, and if they were to catch you… that is something that could make or break this war."

"But why are we at war, Brother?" Rias asked despondently. "What are we even fighting for?"

"We are fighting because father fought and grandfather fought and so on," Satan knew what was coming next and resigned himself to it.

"But why are we fighting when we can't even remember what we're fighting for? There is no point in fighting if there is no reason."

"It is our duty to win this war," Sirzechs told her. "For our family."

Rias shook her head and turned away, heading to her bedroom. Sirzechs knew that she did not enjoy being cooped up in the castle and wanted the war to end so that she could go out again, but he also knew that her heart was in the right place. She wanted their soldiers to stop dying because of the war as well. They both knew the vampires were incredibly powerful and this newest defeat has proven just how powerful the royal family _alone_ was.

Sighing to himself, Sirzechs left the throne room and made his way to his own bedroom, deciding that having some time alone with Grayfia may make him feel a bit better.

Later, Rias stared over the castle grounds, watching the guards switch off. She had switched from her long royal dress to a shorter one, the skirt of it coming just to midthigh in order to allow free leg movement. In doing this, she secured her ability to sneak from the castle like she did every night.

Scaling down the wall, Rias raced for the nearest cart, which always left at the same time each day. Walking on one side of the cart where the guards couldn't see her. Waiting for the cart to stop next to another one, Rias climbed into the next cart and waited until the driver whipped the horses to get them to start moving. Once she was certain that she was out of the gates, the Devil Princess leaped from the cart and set off into the woods as she normally did, heading up to the surface.

Upon coming to the exit into the woods that mirrored those around her, Rias took in a deep breath of earth air and smiled, beginning to walk along the land. The forestry around her was calm and normal, predators and prey scurrying about. Rias smiled and began heading in the direction of the break in the trees that would lead her to Akeno's home.

Hearing footsteps nearby, Rias attempted to keep herself out of sight and to stay quiet so that none of the people heard her. To her chagrin, just as she was turning around, the wind rustled and the leaves lifted, sliding across her body and rustling as well. _How is that even possible?_ She inwardly hissed.

"Hey! Who's there?" Rias froze, unsure of which direction the voice was coming from.

Suddenly, a flashlight shined right in her face and three vampire guards snarled at her angrily. "It's one of those Devils!" the one holding the flashlight shouted.

"Get her!" the one to his right growled, all three beginning to give chase.

"Shit!" Rias hissed, racing in the opposite direction. _If they catch me, it could mean either the end of the war or the start of a much bloodier one._ Hurrying through the underbrush and forestry, Rias worked to put as much distance between herself and the Shuzen scouts as she could. They may have been vampires, but at the moment, they were only using a fraction of their speed. _They probably want me to lead them back to my home. Either that, or they're leading me into a trap._

Continuing into the forestry, Rias tried to decide which she was going to do.

**_…_ **

Moka groaned as she watched her father pace around the throne room. She sat in her designated throne and completely ignored the rant he was giving on what the Devil Lord had done this time. _I don't see why he has to be so aggressive about this whole thing. We won the last battle, didn't we?_

Moka glanced over to her sisters and mother. Kokoa was as bored as she was and definitely looked it. She was nearly falling asleep in her throne as she tried to listen to their father. Aqua was a bit better, sitting up straight with her eyes following their father, but it was clear from the glazed look in her eyes that she wasn't really listening. Akasha dutifully listened to her husband as he went on and on about the war and the fact that the Devils might be figuring out a way to win.

"After all, why would they lead a full-scale castle attack if they weren't sure they would win?" Issa hissed, red eyes narrowed in fury. "I bet they've found a secret weapon that they're hiding. One of the soldiers could have planted it here in the castle while we were taking care of the rest."

"Darling, you can't know that for certain," Akasha murmured, standing and making her way over to him. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she gave him a soft smile. "Perhaps you should relax."

"No, I will not relax until I have made certain the castle is secured," Turning to some nearby guards, Issa ordered, "Have the castle secured and searched in order to find out if there is anything hidden away."

"Yes sir!" the guards saluted and raced off.

Issa turned to his family and let a bit of his body relax. Akasha smiled and turned to her daughters. "You are all dismissed."

Moka slid from her throne and walked past her parents, ducking her head to them as she made her way to her bedroom. Dismissing the maid dusting her chandelier, Moka locked her door and made certain no one was listening in before slipping out of her dress and moving over to her closet. Digging around in the back of the closet, she found the skirt she had chosen to wear that night and put it on. Moving to the window, she surveyed the armaments that were patrolling the border.

Waiting until the guards had moved, Moka opened her window and slid from her balcony onto the roof, balancing herself on the banister and walking in a straight line toward the nearest dropdown point. The guards glanced around, but with her Shinso speed, Moka was able to avoid detection and slid down the pole to the next roof before jumping the rest of the way to the ground. Racing along the treeline where the guards were patrolling, she leaped into a tree to avoid getting caught and swung high into the air, over the trees and over the boundary line. If any of the castle guards dared to follow her, they would risk getting ambushed by the Devils.

Grinning to herself, the silverette strolled through the woods and made her way to her favorite clearing, sitting in the center and staring up at the stars. It was times like these that she loved being able to sneak out of her home and explore during the night. It was the only time she felt free of her father's influence and all of the talk about war and battles seemed to just fade behind her, left at the castle and staying there. Observing the twinkling spheres, Moka wondered how the Devils were feeling about the war. All she knew about them was what her father had told her about them and her mother refused to talk about them because she didn't like the thought of hurting people.

_Surely they can't truly be as bad as Father says they are. I mean, what are we even fighting this war for? No one even remembers what happened to cause it so doesn't that negate the purpose of fighting it? I see no reason to keep battling each other into extinction; though neither side is anywhere near extinct, even now._

_I just wish Father would be more understanding of me. I mean, I know that I'm the second youngest, but even Kokoa gets to do more than I do. Is it because I'm illegitimate? Did he only marry mother because he didn't want to tarnish his relationship? Perhaps he doesn't let me out because he's afraid I won't be able to control my Shinso blood, despite Mother doing her best to train me._

Questions like these had bothered Moka night after night. It really irked her, trying to figure out why her other two sisters get more privileges than she did. Kahlua, though dead, and Kokoa were understandable, but Aqua was an adopted child! She was about the same as Moka was in terms of family, if not less considering she wasn't even of his blood. Yet, Moka wasn't even allowed out of the _castle_.

Moka sighed and stood, taking a look around and chuckling. _To think I can just come here to let my problems fade away when it's not nearly as safe as the castle. I suppose some of us find the best solace when we're in danger._

Moka turned to leave back for home, having cleared her head enough to think through the next day. She heard a rustling sound and glanced around, examining the area to try and detect where the sound had come from. Deciding that it must have been nothing, Moka turned once more. Suddenly, a louder rustling was heard in the bushes and a girl burst from the brush, glancing behind her as she ran. Not looking where she was going, the girl slammed right into Moka and the next thing the vampire knew, her entire world was surrounded by red.


	2. A Common Enemy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moka and Rias come into contact with an enemy vampires and devils both share

Moka groaned as she lifted her head. There was a compressing weight on her chest and she slowly opened her eyes to see a sea of red obscuring her vision. Grunting, she rolled over and pushed the weight from her body, coughing as she sat up and caught her breath.

Rias rolled over the ground a little away from the person she had crashed into and lay still, catching her breath for a moment. She knew she shouldn't stop and that the vampire guards could still be on her tail, but she really had been running for quite a long time.

Finally catching her breath, Rias groaned as she glanced up, rubbing her head. The person she had bumped into was also getting to their hands and knees, their long silver hair covering their face from her. Off in the trees, she could hear the guards getting steadily closer to her location. Standing, she turned to the other person and gasped. Red eyes the same shade as her hair stared back at her in shock.

Moka couldn't believe it. There was a Gremory Devil on a Shuzen vampire's land. _Has the world gone insane? She could easily be killed!_ No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than a shout from nearby sounded off to the side.

"Over there! I see some red!" _Great, castle guards. If they find me here, they'll tell Father and I'll have a guard posted at all of the exits to my room twenty-four seven._

Moka quickly lifted the girl into her arms and leaped into a tree just before the guards rushed into the clearing and began searching around. Using a hand to unnecessarily cover the Devil's mouth, Moka watched the guards carefully, nodding in relief as they raced off in a random direction.

Turning to the girl, she did not expect for her to pull away quickly enough to send both of them falling from the tree. Landing easily on her feet, Moka moved over to catch the girl easily and set her on her feet as well. Realizing what she was doing, the silverette quickly backed away, eyes narrowed as the girl glared at her.

Rias growled as she faced this red-eyed girl that her brother had told her was one of the Vampire Lord's daughters. Silver hair fell into the abnormally pale face and blood red eyes narrowed in suspicion of the person in front of them.

"Who are you?" the girl demanded, standing straight as she surveyed Rias.

Rias mimicked her stance and replied, "Rias Gremory. And you're one of the Vampire Lord's daughters."

Moka took this girl in and felt a blush coming to her cheeks. Limited contact with anyone other than the castle staff and her family made meeting this girl more exciting for the vampire. It helped that the Devil had nice round hips and a cute face. Her bust was certainly nothing to laugh at either, easily surpassing Moka's own size. The silverette quickly shook her head to clear such thoughts, wiping her hands against her skirt to calm herself.

 _Now is not the time for such thoughts, especially about the enemy. I have to focus on getting her off our land before more of my father's men find her here._ "You need to leave," she stated bluntly.

"Or what?" Rias sniffed. "You'll call your guards back? Why were you avoiding them anyway? They're supposed to protect you."

"My father doesn't approve of me leaving the castle," Moka responded, trying to keep her tone calm. "You need to leave before they come back of their own accord and return to their stations."

"They wouldn't need those stations if you're family wasn't so ready to kill mine," Rias grumbled, still not moving.

"Your family isn't the only enemy we have!" Moka snapped, her patience wearing thin.

"Well, that seems to be one thing we have in common," Rias wouldn't admit it, but she was getting a kind of thrill from pissing the vampire girl off as much as she could. "But we have a higher death rate than your family."

"Only because there are less of you," the silverette sniffed in contempt, sliding into a fighting crouch. Rias mimicked the move instantly, not wanting to be caught off guard. "I could kill you before you got close enough to strike a blow," Moka snarled.

"And I could kill you before you moved from the spot you're standing in," Rias retorted, eyes blazing.

 _I forgot._ Moka thought to herself. _The Gremory family has the power of Destruction. She could obliterate me if I made one move in the wrong direction._

They glared at each other, neither moving nor trusting the other not to kill them as soon as they did move. A rustling in the bushes caught their attention, but neither took their eyes off their current opponent; instead they used their ears to discern whether or not the incoming person was a threat.

From the bushes stepped a figure, tall and lean. From the light of the full moon, it appeared to be a young man. He didn't seem too tense about meeting them both in this place, so he must not have been a Devil or vampire, but he didn't smell like a Fallen Angel either. Mutually agreeing, the two young women turned to face him at the same time, their stances straightening as they surveyed him.

"Evening, ladies," the man called, swaggering calmly toward them.

"Who are you?" Rias inquired brusquely.

"And what are you doing here?" Moka added with the same tone.

"Can't a guy take a nighttime stroll without seeming suspicious?" the stranger smirked.

"Not in this part of the forest, he can't," Moka snarled. "This land belongs to my family."

"Someone's being high and mighty," the man huffed.

"No, I'm being territorial." The silverette clenched her teeth in irritation. _This makes two intruders in one night. I will have to get Aqua to speak with father about security because it is ridiculously lax if a Devil and this man can sneak onto our land with no trouble._

Suddenly, the wind shifted while Moka was thinking of what she could say to her sister. The scent that caught her nose made her stiffen considerably. A snarl ripped through her teeth at the revelation of the threat in front of them.

"He's a werewolf!" Moka shouted, going back on the defensive as Rias did the same, both of them glaring hatred at the man. Werewolves were the enemies of both Devils and vampires. Vampires naturally didn't get along with any type of monster and Devils looked down upon any kind of monster, but werewolves were especially vile to them because of their speed and the perverted way in which they used it.

The young man snickered as he watched them, noting how the wind lifted both their skirts slightly. "Well, took you long enough to notice. Though, I suppose I did have the unfair advantage of looking human. Here, is this better?" Within seconds he had transformed to the point that only his clothing and headband marked him as the man they had seen before.

Rias growled and raised her hand, the Power of Destruction forming in her palm. Moka noticed the little black ball and did some calculations in her mind. If the Gremory Princess were to throw that ball right now, the werewolf could still possibly dodge. However, she would create a good enough smoke for them both to escape.

Nodding to herself, Moka turned her body slightly, shifting her stance as she prepared to bolt for home. Rias noticed too, and gave her a nod, throwing the ball of destructive power at the werewolf in front of them. He was already moving before the ball was halfway to him, but so were the girls, racing toward separate sides of the clearing.

But they miscalculated. By assuming that the werewolf would simply dodge and do nothing else, they had both left themselves vulnerable to him. He snickered and leaped in front of Moka, causing her to stop in her tracks lest she slam into him.

"Ooh, the vampire girl looks absolutely hot!" he sneered, jumping at Moka. The silverette barely had enough time to dodge and received a scratch along her arm. Her Shinso healing took care of it, but the sting still remained. Her mother hadn't helped her to unlock her full power, so her speed was still far inferior to the werewolf's.

"Come on, Babe," the werewolf grinned, leaning against a tree and smiling roguishly. "Don't you want to play with me?"

"Leave me alone!" Moka snarled, making to turn as quickly as she could.

The werewolf was having none of this and grabbed her arm, slamming her into the tree he had been leaning against. Moka grunted at the impact, but found herself swinging through the air to smash into the ground with nearly enough force to break her ribs. Coughing, she pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, but the werewolf wasn't done.

"I want to play," he growled, kicking a clawed foot into her already bruised ribs, snapping a few. "And when a big dog wants to play, it pounces." Moka screamed out in agony at the blow and the werewolf grinned, bending over her. His paw reached for her skirt, drool dripping from his jaws as he prepared for the sight to befall him. Moka slammed her foot out, thankful that at least some of her strength had been unlocked.

The werewolf smashed into a tree nearby, but stood almost instantly. His bright red eyes glared at her furiously and he took a running start. The speed added to the force of impact as his foot lifted to impact against her stomach, rupturing the organ. Moka gasped desperately, her arms shaking as they tried to keep her up. A clawed foot pounded onto her back, sending her head cracking against the ground. Vision swimming, the silverette just barely managed to stay conscious as the werewolf bore down on her once more.

Rias chanced a glance back and her eyes widened when she spotted blood dribbling from the vampire girl's mouth. Partially turning back, she fought with herself to just get out of there. _It's just one vampire. It's not like anyone would miss her anyway._

 _But she is the Vampire Lord's daughter and daughter of the most powerful Shinso in the world._ A tiny voice told her. _If you let her die here, the Vampire Lord will assume it was the work of Devils and lead an all-out massacre against your family. There is no point in having such an intense battle over something that wasn't even our doing._

Rias rolled her eyes in frustration and turned back, lighting her hand with the Power of Destruction once more. Throwing a ball of the black and red flame, she smirked as it hit home against the werewolf and slammed him against a tree across the clearing. Rias walked over to the downed vampire and contemplated leaving her there. After all, she needed to be out of the territory before some other guard stumbled upon her and attempted capture.

But there was the possibility that the werewolf could wake up and continue where he left off. With a soft groan of irritation, the redhead leaned down and lifted the vampire into her arms, carrying her through the trees. She had no idea where she was going, but the more distance between herself and the werewolf, the better. Besides, the vampire was light and… carrying her didn't feel entirely uncomfortable…


	3. A Possibly Deadly Compromise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rias and Moka talk about what happened and agree not to run into each other again. However, Moka now has an obligation to a Devil...

Rias moved swiftly through the forest, keeping an ear out in case anymore Shuzen guards decided to make an appearance and mistook the situation for something completely different. After jogging a dozen or so miles, Rias reached a clearing and decided that this would be a good place to rest. _The last thing I need is to oversleep tomorrow because I was too tired from muscle exhaustion._

Setting the vampire down gently, Rias made to retreat, knowing it might not be pretty if she were there when the girl awoke. However, another thought occurred to her. There were several different monsters in the world and, for some stupid reason or another, many of them were quite sexual beings. If they were to wander in this direction and find this girl… Glancing over to the unconscious girl on the grass, Rias groaned softly, but gave a firm nod to herself.

The Devil stood off to the side, leaning against a tree as she watched the silver-haired girl. Despite being unconscious, the redhead had to admit that the silverette did look rather adorable. Her eyes were closed gently, her mouth parted slightly to allow deep breaths to enter and escape, her entire physique relaxed.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Rias scolded herself for thinking such things about the enemy. _She's a vampire, Rias!_ she told herself angrily. _Vampires are still dangerous enemies, no matter how harmless they might look. This one is especially dangerous since she's the daughter of Akasha and not Gyokuro. What did Brother say her name was?_

As she mused over this, she failed to notice the vampire on the ground beginning to waken until she had fully sat up. A pale hand shot to Moka's head as she groaned in slight pain.

 _What hit me?_ The red-eyed woman wondered, glancing around groggily. She spotted a redhead leaning against a tree not too far away and cocked her head in confusion. _She looks cute. Very well-developed, a slim figure, definitely feminine. Probably does some exercises too, if those legs are any indication. I would love to take them-._

And then reality caught up.

"You!" the Shinso vampire hissed, leaping to her feet. Still a bit disoriented from the attack with the werewolf, she sank back to her knees, deciding to curl in on herself as a means of protection instead. She glared over at the redheaded girl. _Rias Gremory_.

"What do you want with me?" Moka demanded, resting her head on her knees and staring at the Devil.

"Nothing," Rias huffed as she turned away. "I want absolutely nothing to do with you or any of your kind."

"What do you mean, _my kind?_ " Moka snarled. Her eyes flashed a warning as she stood once more, this time maintaining her balance.

"Vampires," Rias sniffed. "Creatures like you are the bane of Devil existence."

Moka's fangs bared as she glared at the other girl. "Likewise for vampires. But if I'm the bane of your existence, why did you help me?"

"Because I didn't want your father assuming Devils attacked you and leading a full-on attack against my family." Rias crossed her arms defiantly. "If he's going to lead a full-scale battle, he might as well be attacking the right people, after all."

Moka stared at her dubiously for a few moments before slowly nodding and turning her head away. Lowering her head with a sigh, she walked swiftly over to the redhead. Rias made to raise her hands in a defensive pose, but stopped when Moka knelt before her.

Gritting her teeth, the silverette stared at the grass beneath her hands. "Rias Gremory of the Gremory House of Devils, for the honor of saving my life, I am now indebted to you. A life for a life is the payment I must pay in order to resolve this debt. Therefore, I, Moka Akashiya of the Shuzen Vampire Clan, shall come at your call in a dire life or death situation of your choosing, no more, no less."

Standing, Moka nodded to the Devil and held out her hand. Rias stared at it for a moment before shaking her head. "I don't want a vampire indebted to me. I doubt you'll have to save my life-."

"And what of the life of someone you're close to?" Moka asked simply. "The deal is simply 'a life for a life'. It doesn't say _whose_ life I need to save, simply that I must stop someone of your choosing from dying."

Rias cocked her head to the side, deciphering through the thought and realizing what Moka was getting at. In a time when the Vampire/Devil war would finally draw to a close, one side's leader would have to die. Moka was telling her that, if the war were to end in the favor of the vampires, Rias could call on the silver-haired vampire to protect her brother's life.

Slowly taking a deep breath, Rias held out her hand and placed it in Moka's. Instead of the handshake she had been expecting, Moka raised Rias' hand to her mouth and used her fangs to pierce the skin. A glow surrounded the pair of them as Moka instilled a small amount of her blood into the redhead.

Pulling away and licking her lips, the vampire nodded. "We are now bound together. You may call me once and once only for a dire situation involving a possible death."

"Understood," Rias murmured, rubbing her hand slightly. "Shall we part ways here, then?"

Moka nodded again. "The entrance to the Devil Realm is twenty miles northeast of here. The Shuzen castle is fifty miles southeast of here. Be careful from now on."

Blue eyes widened in utter shock. "Y-you know where my family's-."

"This land belongs to the Shuzen family," Moka told her calmly. "I've explored more freely than my sisters have. I know where everything is." Dipping her head respectfully, Moka gave the stunned Devil a small smile. "Good night, Princess Gremory. And pray we don't have cause to meet again."

Rias nodded slowly and watched in awe as Moka disappeared in a blur, leaving an afterimage of herself to dissolve before Rias' eyes. The Devil slowly came to her senses and wondered what had happened with that girl near the end of their encounter.

 _She suddenly grew so… formal._ It was definitely odd. Sighing, Rias turned in the direction of her home, glancing down at her hand just as the girl's name finally registered in her mind. _Moka Akashiya, huh? It sounds cute, regal… it fits her._

With a small smile, Rias took off in the direction that would lead her back to safety.


	4. Reflection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rias and Moka reflect on the previous night's encounter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's taken so long, but I hope this chapter makes up for that! Also, I went back and revised the first three chapters so they flow better.

Rias groaned as she awoke the next morning. She was still feeling some of the aches from the previous night's encounter. There was some bruising from where she had crashed into the vampire and a bit of mental exhaustion from using her Power of Destruction without having practiced in a while. Shrugging off the second with the knowledge that breakfast would fix that problem, the redhead went about choosing her dress for the day. It would have to be something that covered her sides to hide the bruises and scrapes.

As she went about her morning routine, Rias thought back to the vampire girl, Moka Akashiya. Long silver hair reminiscent of the legendary Shinso vampires and the same red eyes as well. Her aura, while powerful, hadn't been much more so than Rias'; she probably wasn't as trained with her Shinso power as her mother. It made sense considering Rias wasn't nearly as powerful as her brother due to not training as often as he. With her entire Shinso power unlocked, Moka could have posed a legitimate threat to Rias had she wanted to.

The redhead stopped as she was lathering her mass of hair. _Had she wanted to…_ Moka had made no move to attack her. Even before the werewolf had shown up, all Moka had done was threaten her. She had even attempted helping Rias get to safety so that she wasn't caught. Why would a vampire, the current number one enemy of all Devils, try to help the sister of the person in charge of the Devils escape? It certainly couldn't have escaped her notice that Rias could be the ending of the war, could it? No, there must have been another reason she let the Devil Princess leave.

Shrugging, Rias finished washing her hair and grabbed a towel. Quickly drying off, Rias wrapped the towel around herself and began brushing her hair. It was perplexing to say the least. There hadn't seemed to be any kind of ulterior motive, either. Moka had genuinely wanted to help her, going so far as to tell her which way to go to get back home. Which in itself was intriguing as she knew where one of the entrances to the Underworld was and yet, there had been no raids on the Devil Palace at all since the beginning of the war.

Rias groaned as she slipped into her undergarments and dress. It was so confusing, trying to figure out this person. She was different than the other vampires Rias had come into contact with. At least they were clear in their motivations to kill her, but Moka's motives weren't so obvious.

Glancing down at her hand, the redhead traced the small scar left behind from Moka's bite. She could feel the hum of the vampire's blood in her system, not enough to overpower her own or give her the power of a Shinso. However, it was enough to know that, if she were to call Moka right then, the vampire would come to her. Of course, doing so could be dangerous as Moka said that her father didn't let her leave the castle. If the silverette were to suddenly bolt from the premises, there was no doubt in Rias' mind that several of the vampire guards would follow to attempt apprehending her.

With a sigh, Rias finally closed her hand and made her way to the dining hall. All of the thinking had made her late to breakfast. Her big brother was already there with Grayfia, discussing something about the war, most likely. Both glanced up at her entrance and Sirzechs cocked his head. "Rias, are you feeling well?" he asked softly. "You're later than usual."

"Just took a little longer to wash my hair, Brother," Rias responded, curtsying and smiling at Grayfia. "It's nothing."

"If you're sure," Sirzechs murmured. Grinning, he clapped his hands together. "Well, I've got a surprise for you."

Rias' head perked up at this, the princess sliding into her seat as she watched her brother curiously. Sirzechs took a deep breath and said, "I think you'll finally be able to go out on the surface now."

Blue eyes widened in shock at the news. "Really?" Rias asked excitedly. "I can see Akeno and Koneko and Yuto again?"

"That's right," Sirzechs laughed. "However, unfortunately, you will only be permitted to leave the palace when it is nighttime on the surface. I don't want the vampires finding you easily and, during the day, it would be difficult to miss our hair. I know it's been difficult for you to be cooped up in the castle while your servans are still above ground. So, though only at night, you're allowed out of the palace. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes!" the younger redhead cheered. "Thank you so much, Brother!"

"You must be careful, Rias," Sirzechs interrupted his sister before she could get into the full swing of celebration. "If the vampires catch you, they will not hesitate to kill you. Please don't do anything dangerous while up there."

"I will!" Rias chirped, digging into her breakfast happily.

**_…_ **

Moka's eyes glazed as she sat on her throne. Her claws on one hand drummed quietly on the arm of the chair while the claws on the other hand tapped against her cheek. Her father was on another of his long speeches, this time about some kind of agricultural thing. She could really care less about that; all morning her mind had been on something far more appealing.

Ever since the previous night, Moka hadn't been able to get the redheaded Devil beauty off of her mind. Remnants of her scent had been on Moka's outfit when the silverette had returned home. It was a pleasant smell, similar to fresh earth and rainfall. Moka had stowed the clothes at the bottom of her clothing hamper so that the staff didn't also catch the scent and become suspicious.

Even after discarding her outfit and slipping into bed, Moka had stayed awake for a while afterward, remembering the way Rias had felt in her arms. Such soft skin for a creature her father was adamant on destroying. She hadn't had the redhead in her arms for very long, but the way Rias had felt against her body still made Moka blush. When she had finally made it to sleep, all Moka had seen in her dreams was that scarlet hair, flowing in the wind with the other woman's movements.

Because of her thoughts being filled with nothing but the Devil Princess, the second youngest vampire was much more restless than usual. Twice she had zoned out during her father's speech and had only barely pulled herself back to focus. Moka wasn't sure why she was so restless. It was doubtful she and the Gremory Devil would ever see each other again, so there wasn't even anything to look forward to.

The three other Shuzen women glanced to their silver-haired member in confusion. Apart from Akasha, Moka was usually the most focused during Issa's daily speeches. The fact that she was tapping impatiently at her throne and her eyes continually glazed over with disinterest was new to all three of them. Even Kokoa had stayed awake just to watch her beloved older sister in puzzlement. Issa took no notice, of course, so absorbed in what he was saying that he didn't notice.

Akasha cocked her head as she looked to her daughter. _I wonder what could be bothering her this much? Is it because she isn't allowed out of the castle? I'm certain I could convince Issa to let her out more often now that she has proven her power in the latest battle. I am not sure it's completely safe to let her go, but her power should be high enough now for her to at least roam the woods around the property._ Green eyes narrowed at the memory of the monsters that had attacked her baby girl the day Aqua arrived. _Now that she's trained in her power, she will reduce any lesser monsters to ribbons if they dared lay a hand on her. Only the werewolves are a problem, but even they will not be able to stand against her once her full power is released._

Aqua's thoughts were along similar lines. _Has something happened recently? Perhaps there's something within the castle that has caught her interest._ Bright red eyes narrowed at the thought. _I will have to make certain all of the staff are up to speed on how to treat my little Moka. I would hate for her to take an interest in one of them and they attempt to use her for their own gain. I'd sooner kill them than let them take advantage of her._

Kokoa's eyes tracked the movements of her sister's claws. She knew of the Shinso power, but that didn't stop her from wanting to beat Moka with everything she had. The way her sister was moving now was different than usual, which meant that she had been training differently. Because of the war, Kokoa knew that Moka hadn't trained with Akasha in a while, but was she training herself? _If that's so, then I'm going to train too! I'm not going to let you get ahead of me, Moka. Not without a fight!_

Finally, Issa's speech ended and he turned to his family. All four women were just barely in time to school their expressions and turn their eyes back to him as he clapped for them to be dismissed. Within seconds, Moka was across the throne room and out the door before any of her family members could say a word to her. Akasha and Aqua shared a glance while Kokoa went off to find a clearing to practice with Kou. Nodding between them, the two older vampire women decided to have a talk with the silverette.

Meanwhile, said silver-haired vampire was on her balcony, watching the arc of the afternoon sun. The wind blew her hair slightly as her mind wandered to Rias Gremory once more. She wished she'd had a chance to taste the Devil's blood, but since she had been giving instead of receiving, the most she got was the slightest taste on her fang. Shivering at the prospect of drinking from a Devil, Moka turned her attention back to the sky. She couldn't wait until nighttime. Perhaps she would wait at the entrance to the Underworld for Rias to return to the surface.


End file.
